We’ve compiled a list of resources to help you learn Spanish independently at home, or alongside a class or tutor.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of those links, you won’t pay a penny more, but we’ll receive a small commission to help keep Camposol Online running.
Apps
Let’s start with the most popular option: Rosetta Stone [Apple/Android]. Award-winning app Rosetta Stone combines interactive lessons with enhanced online features — such as multiplayer games and live tutoring — to teach you Spanish through immersion-based learning. It’s not cheap, however, costing 120 euros annually, or 180 euros with a Rosetta Stone-appointed tutor.
Synergy Spanish is both an app and a series of audio and video lessons designed especially for those aged 30 to 96 who may find it harder to learn a language to their age and/or lack of time. According to creator Marcus Santamaria, all you need is 138 words to get by in Spain, with which you can make 88,000 Spanish phrases!
The course costs around 80 euros for the basic package and will have you chatting away with the locals in no time at all.
Babbel [Apple/Android] is another popular language learning app that’s similar in style to Rosetta Stone. It costs 60 euros annually and teaches Spanish through a series of interactive lessons which are designed to get you speaking Spanish right away.
Duolingo [Apple/Android] is a free alternative to Rosetta Stone and Babbel, although the app focuses on Latin American Spanish, rather than Castilian. While there’s no major differences between the two, you will encounter some discrepancies, like the word ‘computer’, for example, which is computadora in Latin American Spanish, and ordenador in Castilian Spanish. Latin American Spanish doesn’t use the personal pronoun vosotros, either.
Memrise [Apple/Android], on the other hand, centres around Castilian Spanish, and teaches the language through fun, game-based exercises. Although all four of the aforementioned apps are suitable for children as well as adults, space-themed Memrise will probably hold your child’s attention the longest, and it’s free to boot.
Tinycards [Apple/Android] relies on good ol’ flash cards to help you memorise vocabulary, which you can either create yourself, or select from a variety of pre-made cards.
Once you’ve mastered the basics, Linguasorb Spanish Verbs [Apple only] will help you tackle verb conjugation and tenses, while SpanishDict [Apple/Android] is great for looking up unfamiliar words, and includes a handy phrasebook, too, plus a Word of the Day.
Another must-have app is Google Translate [Apple/Android], which instantly translates words and phrases into your language of choice.
Audiobooks
Audiobooks are great for learning on the go. Learn Spanish with Paul Noble [Audible] is a 13-hour-long course, covering vocabulary, verbs and everything in between. Once complete, you’ll have learnt over 6,000 new words, and will confidently be able to navigate most social situations in Spanish.
Paul has also recently released another course called Next Steps in Spanish with Paul Noble [Audible], which follows on from the first, and builds on your existing knowledge.
Pimsleur’s Castilian Spanish course [Audible] breaks down the learning process into bite-sized chunks, and claims to be the easiest and fastest way to learn a new language, while Claudia Orea‘s Spanish Short Stories for Beginners [Audible] improves your listening skills, and adds over 1,500 new words and phrases to your repertoire.
Join Audible for free for 30 days, and receive your first audiobook for free. After your trial, you’ll receive one credit per month for just £7.99, which can be used on any title, regardless of price. All audiobooks purchased from Audible are yours to keep indefinitely, so you can listen to them over and over again until you’re fluent!
Books & E-Books
Verbs, nouns, adjectives and the like are hard enough to get your head around in English, never mind Spanish! At least, that’s what we thought until we discovered Gordon and Cynthia Smith-Durán’s books: Demystifying the Spanish Subjunctive [Amazon UK/ES], Perfecting the Past in Spanish [Amazon UK/ES] and Perfecting the Pronouns in Spanish [Amazon UK/ES].
Gordon and Cynthia have also written a book for children, too, called The Colours and the Balcony of Terror! [Amazon UK/ES], which is designed to help your child learn Spanish through story.
Dorothy Richmond’s Spanish Verb Tenses [Amazon UK/ES] is dedicated to — yes, you guessed it — Spanish verb tenses, and is part of the Practice Makes Perfect series, which has books covering all aspects of the Spanish language.
Spanish for Dummies by Pedro Vázquez Bermejo and Susana Wald [Amazon UK/ES] serves as a great introduction to the Spanish language, and includes bonus audio content of Spanish conversations spoken by native Spanish speakers in a variety of everyday contexts.
Polyglot Benny Lewis of Fluent in 3 Months has also released a book called Language Hacking Spanish [Amazon UK/ES], which helps you hack the Spanish language so that you can start having conversations immediately.
Podcasts
Podcasts are similar to audiobooks, but free to listen to. Our favourites include LightSpeed Spanish, Notes in Spanish, Español con Juan, SpanishPod101 and Duolingo Spanish Podcast by the creators of Duolingo.
You’ll need a podcast app to listen to podcasts; we recommend Podcasts [Apple only] or Castbox [Apple/Android], which are also free. Once you’ve downloaded your chosen app, search within the app for the podcast you wish to listen to, and don’t forget to subscribe to it to receive future episodes.
Membership Programs
LightSpeed Spanish has a membership program called Ser Socio, which costs £9.99 per month to join. You’ll have access to over 200 audio lessons, and complete homework based on what you’ve learnt.
Join Ser Socio today and receive your first month free with the code FREEMONTH, and mention Camposol Online sent you.
Video
For those who prefer to learn visually, YouTube is chock full of Spanish learning videos.
YouTube channels we recommend include That Spanish Dude, LightSpeed Spanish, Butterfly Spanish, Dreaming Spanish, NachoTime, Señor Jordan and WhyNotSpanish.
Online Tutoring
If you don’t have the time to regularly attend a class, iTalki is a great alternative. With over 800 native Spanish tutors, you can select a time and a date that’s suits you, and learn Spanish one-on-one via Skype, FaceTime or similar.
Author: Camposol Online
Camposol Online is your online guide to Urbanización Camposol in Mazarrón, Spain, and the surrounding area.